lament
/ləˈmɛnt/noun, verb
lament is spelled L-A-M-E-N-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lament means “An expression of grief, suffering, sadness or regret” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lament is laments.
How many letters and syllables are in lament?
| Letters | 6: L-A-M-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,906th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lament?
Lament appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lament?
- US /ləˈmɛnt/
Lament has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-lament.ogg, En-us-lament.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lament?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lament from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnt/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: mental, mantle, mantel, manlet.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lament
- laments plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lamenting participle, present
- lamented participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lament mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An expression of grief, suffering, sadness or regret.
- 2
A song expressing grief.
verb
- 1
To express grief; to weep or wail; to mourn.
- 2
To express great sorrow or regret over; to bewail.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lament in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lamentation , complainte , se lamenter , plaindre |
| German | Klage, Wehklage, Klagen, Wehklagen , Klagegesang, Klagelied |
| Portuguese | lamento, lamentação , lamentar |
| Spanish | lamento, lamentación , lamentar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lament come from?
A back-formation from lamentation or else from Middle French lamenter and its etymon Latin lāmentor (“to wail, weep”), from lāmentum (“wailing, moaning, weeping”); with formative -mentum, from the root *la-, probably ultimately imitative. Also see latrare.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).